How to Golf With Arthritis

By Robert Preston

Arthritis can make playing a round of golf painful if not properly tended to.

Arthritis is a painful condition in which the joints become inflamed when used. Golfing with arthritis can be a painful experience if the proper precautions are not taken, as the tolls of walking a full round and hitting shots while gripping clubs can quickly add up to sever inflammation. For those who are not suffering from severe arthritis, however, it is possible to play golf and still have it be an enjoyable day on the course.

Consult with a doctor to confirm that golf is an appropriate sport for your level of arthritis and to find out if they have any special recommendations to limit pain and injury.

Select equipment that minimizes impact on your joints. Lower compression balls will give less kick back, and graphite shafts will allow for less vibration to be passed on to your hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Wrap the grips of the clubs with athletic tape so that they are larger and do not require so tight of a grip to hold onto them.

Wear wrist braces to help support the wrists while swinging and golf gloves to help absorb some of the vibrations passing through the club.

Wear standard tennis shoes instead of golf shoes. The tennis shoes are better suited for distributing your weight and will make the round easier on you.

Warm-up thoroughly before every round. Spend 10 to 15 minutes walking to loosen the muscles, and then thoroughly stretch before beginning to play.

Hit every shot off a tee to minimize the likelihood of jarring impacts of the club off the ground.

Shorten the course, either by playing from shorter tees or playing in from a certain yardage marker, such as the 200-yard markers, on every hole. A shorter round means less strokes impacting your joints.